AAUG Reviews

by Chuck Maas, AAUG Member

In the past I haven’t been a huge fan of the “Dummies” books, not because they haven’t filled an important need, but because for my style of learning they’ve seemed excessively “cute” and spent too much space on cartoons and clever comments often unrelated to the subject. I’m old-school — I admit it — and when I sit down to learn something I don’t want to be entertained…I want clear, concise, accurate information that I can absorb as quickly as possible.

This “Dummies” book is not like any I’ve seen before. Right off the bat the paper and printing quality is way better; while maybe not quite in the “really slick” category, it’s well beyond the black ink on heavy newsprint of many past editions. Another positive feature is the author, Rob Sylvan, whose credentials as a National Association of Photoshop Professionals Help Desk Specialist are impeccable and whose style throughout the book clearly demonstrates not only mastery of the program he’s writing about but outstanding communication skills as well.

As to the subject — Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 — anyone even remotely involved with digital imaging knows how popular this program has become since its launch about two years ago. Lightroom’s defining concept, parametric editing (the fancy term for non-destructive image editing) has changed the way we think about processing digital image files. This isn’t the only program to use this approach — Apple’s Aperture and Light Crafts’ LightZone employ a similar methodology — but Adobe’s rich history and huge market share in the image editing business provide a lot of user confidence and pave the way (more…)

by Chuck Maas, AAUG Member

Technology books are tools for learning, and the good ones provide timely, accurate information in a manner that’s easy to assimilate. When they’re written by giants in the business whose views and opinions have been tested over time they are even more valuable. This is one of those books.

Digital photography has been like a tsunami that started relatively small and just kept on growing. As hardware and software tools have grown inexorably in number and complexity, there’s been a crying need for a polished, proven, up-to-the-minute set of methodologies to deal with growing collections of image files, especially for professional photographers for whom time is money and whose reputations depend on quality and consistency. Many have tried to provide this framework as consultants and trainers, but only a few have risen to the top, including the company D-65, founded by Seth Resnick and Jamie Spritzer, co-authors of this book.

Let’s be clear; there are many ways to capture, edit, publish, and store digital images, but only a few end-to-end workflows make the highest and best use of all the tools available to achieve both efficiency and effectiveness. And of course with never-ending technology improvements and software upgrades it’s a continually moving target, but in my view, this book — which is essentially the D-65 workshop in handbook form — is one of the best compilations yet.

In this discussion of workflow, the authors present Lightroom as the core component to move digital captures into the desktop darkroom and manage them from development through delivery and archiving. However, they stress that Lightroom is still best augmented with Adobe Photoshop and Bridge (more…)

by Randy Brandon, AAUG Member

Adobe Photoshop CS 4 arrived in its nice blue box, and I couldn’t wait to pop it in for the install. After a fairly short, and painless(the best kind) install, I launched it, and watched this newest version of Photoshop come to life.

This version of Photoshop CS 4 is way, way different. I know, I know what you’re saying; well it better be different, or why do I need it? Adobe does not disappoint.
From the first moment that CS 4 comes up on screen, the difference will instantly become clear.

Since Bridge is now synonymous with Photoshop, it is only fitting that I begin with that integral part of the software program.

The Bridge window opens to a fairly familiar look that resembles Bridge in CS 3.
But there are several totally new, and phenomenal tools that I remain excited about.
Two of these are named the Graduated Filter tool, and the next is the Adjustment Brush.
These two seemingly small new features are in reality huge!
As any photographer will tell you, there is always a lot of work to do on most photographs, and especially those with extremes of exposures like scenics with burnt out skies, and blocked up foregrounds. In the past my own solution usually involved masking, after the image has been processed through the RAW file conversion.

But the addition of these two new tools in the RAW conversion window make that old method obsolete.
What these two new tools do is to basically allow the user to lay in either a gradient, or a brushed (more…)

by Dave Enders, AAUG Member

Adobe Premiere Pro CS3 is a suite of three programs: Premiere Pro, Encore and OnLocation. I have to admit when I first saw the package I was overwhelmed by its weight. I guess we have have got used to electronic downloads and manuals as pdf. Included in the package was a video tutorial disk. These are presented in Flash. I found the videos a good alternative to the heavy lifting required for the manuals. What I found to be distracting was the aspect ration of the video within the flash player appeared to be incorrect which resulted in the text being a bit fuzzy. I was able to go through the videos for the purpose of this review. It is noteworthy that the training videos are from Adobe and from Lynda.com. It very well maybe worthwhile acquiring a subscription to online training when you are dealing with complex programs offered by Adobe, Apple et al. What I liked that none of the training sections were longer than 10 minutes. They showed the power of Premiere, Encore and OnLocation. Total Training also offers online training for the Adobe family of products.

Lets get on with the software programs. Premiere and Encore are native Mac OS X apps. I tested these under OS X 10.5.5 on an iMac Intel Core Duo 2 2.8 Ghz, 500GB, 4GB. I found my computer to be up to the task. I was using a Sony TRV-33 DV camera. For DV and HDV, Adobe states the hard drive requirements to be a dedicated 7200 rpm drive. For HD video, the requirements get steeper (more…)

by Gary Miller ,AAUG Member

I like the new and latest version of Photoshop Elements 6; more evolved than previous versions with a nice intuitive feel to it. Elements is the editor for the rest of us, more features than Apple iPhoto, but less than it’s mega-powerful Photoshop. It’s my speed…

Since many of us have used the app for years, this review will focus on the newer features. First off I noted the new smart group feature that takes a few shots of groups of people, allows you to use only the best views, and create easily a all in one best, it’s called Enhanced Photo Merge.

Quick Selection Tool is pure magic in that it allows to change the hue of a subject, like the petals of a flower to another hue, by easily selecting and dragging, then changing, amazing simple to do. That’s the theme with this version of Elements 6, save you time, make your work look like a pro.

Like to see your work in Black and White? Then the new style feature, allows before and after before you decide on exactly how dark, light, contrast you like, very easy too. Very arty look.

The new quick fix feature allows 1 click fix for exposures that didn’t quite make it, or I found using the curve’s feature would allow more fine tuning, so to fix the blue in sky to be vivid or not. worked great. (more…)

by Chuck Maas, AAUG Member

In just a few short years digital imaging has largely eclipsed film as the method and medium for making photographs. The ease of capturing and sharing images via e-mail and on the web has a magnetic draw that’s hard to resist. However, digital image files require some means of transfer and storage, so computers have become an integral part of the picture-taking process.

For Mac users, Apple’s iPhoto program readily meets the needs of many of users providing a slick interface and capable (though basic) image adjustment and file management. But there are limits to its capability, and for those wishing more control, including the processing of RAW files to extract the highest possible image quality, a step up is required. In the past, that step was often a pretty big leap all the way to Adobe Photoshop, long recognized as the industry’s heavyweight standard for image editing programs. But Photoshop is expensive, has a very steep learning curve, and makes big demands on computer resources, preventing many from taking the plunge. Because of that Adobe saw the opportunity for an in-between product and brought us Photoshop Lightroom.

So what does Lightroom attempt to achieve? Here are Adobe’s words: “Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom software is the professional photographer’s essential toolbox, providing one easy application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs so you can spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens.” In a nutshell, (more…)

by Gary Miller, AAUG Member

Adobe Illustrator’s new version, CS3, is a big step. Now with Live Color that allows one to control and apply variations interactively, and yes, edit so you can see results immediately. I liked the Color Guide feature, showing and allowing me to easily choose shades, tints, and make combinations on the fly. Also new was Live Trace, it allows you to quickly convert scans, photos to editable and scalable vector paths, worked great. The tools pallet now has Eraser, that really helps us all. And now Illustrator CS3 works much better with it’s other design applications like Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat.

I liked the addition of Document Profiles, setting the parameters that allow new docs for a specific final output. An example of the new drawing tools is the Crop Area Tool, that easily assists in crop down a specific rectangular part of an image, versus the old way of draw a rectangle and make a clipping mask. The Eraser is a much valued addition, it lets you modify existing parts of the illustration just as you would in a paint application. When you pass over the Eraser tool over an object, the tool automatically alters and reshapes it, so it looks partially erased, worked great.

Integrating Flash is a big win. You can now import Illustrator files into Flash, copy, paste objects between both easily. Move text as a vector object or dynamic text. (more…)

by Randy Brandon, AAUG Member

Wow… GoLive 9!

I am trying to think back to exactly when I first got my hands on GoLive? And if memory serves me well, I think that it was probably GoLive version 3.

So here I am all of these years later sitting at my computer launching this latest version of Adobe GoLive 9.

Time has been kind to the GoLive program, and it was really all due to the good folks at Adobe who have nurtured it through numerous versions all the way to this latest incantation of GoLive 9.

I had been hearing rumors that Adobe was thinking of,(or already had) dropping the GoLive program from their list of products. So I was delighted when GoLive version 9 was introduced.

On to the program…

I was initially drawn to the Adobe GoLive program because of a few features that I really needed to have in a program that I wanted for my web design. And the one that stood out above all others was the ability to design web pages on a grid. And it might also be a good thing to mention that I managed to skip GoLive CS1, and 2 versions, so this latest version is almost like starting from scratch. (more…)

by Gary Miller, AAUG Member

InDesign CS3 is a big step from my version, InDesign CS. Many new features, ease of help, and videos to get one started, and now Photoshop like effects, better search features, while the controls, sometimes called the ‘interface’ are better, but could be simplified. It is an amazing tool for your design work, be it full on graphic designers, or like me, gives me the ability to create better quality work, with more control, it’s definitely worth the money and time to learn it.

Let’s get started. The install requires you quit all apps because it puts many shared pieces in many places. The new window you see, really is a good awakening to what’s in store for you.

As you see, i was able to go right to getting started, learn quickly what’s new, or search out resources in it, or on Adobe’s website. You also see, Adobe had expanded it’s user group community to include inDesign, like it’s general purpose user grp, which AAUG belongs, or it’s others, like Acrobat. The directory of add’l plug in’s is helpful, as you come up against new jobs requiring add’l skills. I really appreciate this. I went right to the videos supplied to give me a tour. First up, was Using the Control Panel, high quality video’s by Lynda.com were shown, Adobe offering a brief tutorial in how to use the video controls. well done. Next I wanted to see what was new. The creative effects For example the satin effect that applies interior shading in a satin like finish. The plus is that you can experiment in seeing what you can do without permanently altering your project, til you’re ready. (more…)

by Randy Brandon, AAUG member

Yes, Adobe Photoshop CS 3 has arrived!

I have been so busy with recent projects that I had not even bothered to download the earlier beta version, so I am literally starting this review of CS 3 from square one.

And upon first opening it up, my initial thought was simply  WOW.  But the longer version could also have been:  “And now for something completely different”.

Seasoned Photoshop professionals,(and virtually everyone else for that matter) will barely recognize this newest version from its totally reworked user interface(GUI).

As you all know Adobe Photoshop is always shipped with the Bridge browser.
And since there have been major changes to the entire program it is only fitting to start off with the initial software that opens prior to Photoshop CS 3.

I had heard about some of the changes made to Bridge, but I had no idea as to how comprehensive that they were.

BRIDGE.

When the user first opens the new Bridge, you are presented with a much more formal looking layout in a stylish neutral gray color.  And now everything in the window is basically a tab.  (more…)